When Time Stops
by japriet1
Summary: April is just beginning her last year in college, but her timer is almost up. In fact, it ends today. In less than 10 hours. Today, her life changes forever. As the numbers tick closer counting down towards zero, she has no idea what to expect when it reaches the end.


_Hi! So… I tried to write a thing… a cute little Japril AU thing! This is one of my favorite AU concepts, so I decided to try it out. It's not just a College AU, but, you'll see! I am fairly new to Grey's and I haven't written in a long time, so please bare with me. I hope you all like it! Enjoy!_

* * *

"Arizona! I - I am not wearing that!" I huff in exasperation as I stare at myself in the full body mirror hanging on the wall where Arizona is holding a slim black dress up to me. I turn around and eye the pile of clothes that she made me try on this morning. I shove them off my bed before I sit down with my back against the wall. There has to be at least twenty outfits strung across both our beds and several pairs of shoes thrown all over the floor of our cramped dorm room.

She rolls her eyes at me before she explains, "Come on, April! It's the first day of classes and you need to look nice! Plus, your timers almost up! First impressions are everything, April. You know that."

Her statement catches my attention and causes me to glance at the alarm clock on my dresser.

 **8:15 a.m.**

Arizona walks over to me and yanks on my wrist. She has always been a lot more interested in my timer, since hers has been frozen since she hit puberty. Bold, black numbers stare back at both of us as the timer on my wrist ticks away.

 **09:50:15:43**

We both sit there quietly as we do the math in our heads. I only have 9 hours and 50 minutes left. 6:05 p.m. That is what it counts down to. At 6:05, my life changes forever.

"It's 6:05. That's the time on your wrist." She eventually determines and I just shake my head. I was never really interested in figuring it out and it used to be so high that it wasn't worth trying. Some people took the time, but I didn't. Arizona would've been one of those people, had she gotten the chance. Now she lives vicariously through me.

"Will you please at least wear something decent? It's a special day! I know you don't really care but, if not for you, do it for me!" She gives me her best pouty face and then goes to pick out another outfit from her closet.

"I'm just going to wear jeans and a t-shirt, AZ." I tell her, but she doesn't listen to me.

"You wear that every day. Don't tell me you were planning on wearing those ratty converse, too," She spins around towards me and catches the guilty look on my face, "April! Can you please try to act excited! This is important for your future!"

"And I appreciate this but I just want to be myself. So he-" Arizona glares at me, so I correct myself, "or she- should see me how I am on a normal day. I don't want to give a false impressions either." I explain to her as I slip on my light blue skinny jeans. She nods and stays quiet. I assume she finally agreed with me, at least enough to not press me any further. I continue getting ready while she occupies herself. I go to put on my favorite baggy t-shirt with our school logo, but I see her frown at me from the doorway. Instead, I reach for the flowy, maroon tank top piled on the bed to please her. I put on my white converse before I deem myself ready to go. As I pass the mirror, I check my appearance and attempt to control my unruly red curls.

"Should I do something with my hair?" I wonder out loud. I grab a hairbrush to comb it out, but before I get the chance, Arizona has already offered to braid it back for me. She quickly fixes it up and I look at the clock again.

 **9:10 a.m.**

"Oh crap! We need to go or we are going to be late!" Arizona grabs her stuff and ushers me to the door.

I take a deep breath as we rush out of the room. Anxiety starts to fill my body and butterflies bounce around my stomach as it finally hits me. I realize how unprepared I actually feel about what is supposed to happen today. I don't now how act when my timer hits zero! What do I say? How am I supposed to feel? What if nothing happens? Ok, don't freak out. I start breathing slowly, in and out, to calm myself down. This is a big moment, but that doesn't mean it has to ruin my day. This is my first last day of college, and I'm not going to let it determine what my day is like. Today sets me up for the rest of senior year. It doesn't depict how my day is going to go, just how it ends.

 _Just how it ends._

That wasn't a very comforting thought.

"Earth to April," Arizona waves her hand in front of my face, and only then do I realize I have stopped walking, completely captivated by my thoughts, "We need to walk quickly so we don't show up late to microbiology." She informs me and then we continue across campus to the science building.

 **9:30 a.m.**

Microbiology.

That's the class you have to take as a first semester senior on the pre-med track. Why must it be this early in the morning? No one's paying any attention to the poor professor, but it's syllabus week, and we all know we won't be doing anything important.

"Hard to stay a wake isn't it. I had her last semester. It doesn't get any better, trust me." The boy beside me whispers to me and I laugh at his remarks, "I'm Matthew."

"April." I smile at him and shake his outstretched hand.

Arizona watches our interaction from her seat behind me with a smirk on her face.

"What are you staring at?" I whisper to her as I lean back in my seat.

She leans forward to get closer to me, "If only you had met him a little later. Right day, wrong time. He's perfect for you."

I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to the professor. Matthew continues to make little comments about the way she pronounces certain words, or the way she paces in front of the board with a marker in hand, but has yet to write anything.

 **10:45 a.m.**

She finally dismisses class after what seems like a century and Arizona, Matthew and I practically run out of the door.

"You'd think she would do more than read directly off of the paper she handed out." Arizona quips.

Matthew chuckles, "Just wait until we have lecture. She reads directly off the slides too. It's unbearable."

I scoff and roll my eyes. Sometimes it's very hard to pay attention to those types of professors, "At least she teaches, I guess!" I try to sound optimistic and Matthew grins widely at me.

We walk along the sidewalk in the quad until I reach the building for my next class.

"Looks like this is my stop." I wave bye to Matthew as he walks away from us. I turn to Arizona, "Save me a seat by you in lab!" I call after her and she bobs her head in response.

I spin around and hurry up the stairs so I can get to my next class and get a good seat. I'd like to think I'm a good student. I had a 4.0 GPA in high school, and though I haven't kept it perfect recently, it's been pretty close! I had to keep it that way so I could get into med school next fall. Yeah, I said med school. I met Arizona my freshman year here, in the pre-med program. We instantly clicked when we met and we have been roommates for three years now. We're even planning on applying to the same schools for med school. She's practically my other half, as a best friend.

 _My other half._

 **06:35:00:12**

My wrist reads as I go in to my next class of the day.

 **11:30 a.m.**

The class starts and I zone out knowing that in a few short hours my time will be up. I don't bother getting to know anyone in the class, because I see no point. I nod along to the professor as she tells us what to expect this semester and all that syllabus week bull crap.

After we get dismissed, I quickly grab lunch by myself at the café by the science building while Arizona is in class.

I check my phone.

 **12:30 p.m.**

I have an hour to kill before my biology lab so I hang around the café and sip on some coffee while I wait. I need to be around people today. I don't want to be alone with my thoughts because the ticking time bomb on my forearm fills my mind at all times. I play around on my computer until I realize its time to leave.

 **1:30 p.m.**

I spot Arizona in the second row when I enter the room. I take the seat beside her at the lab table and she immediately looks at me, "How much time left?"

I show her my wrist even though I know she already knows the answer.

 **04:25:00:22**

I glare at her in annoyance and she apologizes, "I'm sorry! You know why I'm like this."

I immediately regret my rudeness towards her excitement for me. She will never experience this moment. She won't know the feeling of the timer reaching zero. Her timer is frozen. It froze in some freaky accident when she was in high school. Sometimes that happens, however, it's rare. The timers' people were born with glitch and stop working. Sometimes, they freeze and randomly start working again. In rare cases, they freeze because your soul mate was matched with two people, and met the other one first. I have hope for her and the latter, even though she gave up a long time ago.

 **3:00 p.m.**

Lab was over. It's the first day and they have already having us jump right in. Something about being a senior and how we "should already be prepared for this."

"I will come back to the room after my last class. Please, go freshen up at least?" Arizona begs me and I just laugh at her.

"But AZ, I want to go back and rest! I still have at least three hours!" I complain and pout.

She rolls her eyes at my act but cracks a smile, "Ok, fine. But when I get back in an hour, I'm fixing your stringy hair. Use your time wisely!" She throws her words over her shoulder as we walk in opposite directions.

* * *

"Apes!" Arizona enters our room and slams the door, "I am so hungry! Let's go to dinner! Maybe your timer will run out while we are there!" I can see that she's getting just as anxious as I am. This may be my moment, but as I said, it's kind of hers too.

I look at the clock for the thousandth time today. Stupid time and its strange hold it has over us. It's a man made concept yet we act as if it runs our lives.

 **5:05 p.m.**

"AZ, it's barely five o'clock. No one but old people go to dinner at this time!" I laugh at her, but I know why she wants to go. I only have an hour left.

 **01:00:00:00**

I sigh and then set my laptop on the desk beside my bed.

"Alright, let's go to dinner. I'm hungry too."

I stand up from the bed and grab her arm. I can feel her bursting with joy. I just know she thinks my timer will stop while we are in the dining hall.

 **5:20 p.m.**

It takes us 15 minutes to eat all our food, but we wait around and talk anyway. After a few minutes, no new people come in and I lose faith that this is my lucky spot. Arizona has left me to talk to a couple of her other friends from the pre-med program, ones who I don't particularly associate with, but I know them. I decide to take a stroll along the quad because the weather was unbelievably amazing and nice. I fidget as I make it back to my building. It wasn't quite time yet so I decide to just awkwardly stand there. It was inching closer to 6 o'clock and I was getting anxious. I take a peek at my timer just to see how long I had left.

 **00:10:00:00**

"April! Hey!" I turn my head as I hear a familiar voice.

"Oh, hey! Matthew, right?" I smile at him as he walks towards me. We stop on the sidewalk right outside my dormitory to talk. I bounce on the balls of my feet in anticipation.

 **00:05:00:00**

I nervously watch my wrist as Matthew talks to me.

 **00:01:00:00**

This can't be it. I already met Matthew today. He can't be it, can he? The universe doesn't mess these types of things up. I try to look for his timer on his wrist for a sense of confirmation that this wasn't happening.

 **00:00:30:00**

His long sleeves cover up too much of his arm, so I can't see even a hint of black numbers. My hope is dwindling as Matthew drones on. I zone out. I feel bad about being disappointed, but I can't help it. I was expecting a real connection or a heart stopping moment.

 **00:00:15:00**

As my mind starts trying to make sense of it all, I hear Matthew faintly call my name.

"April…"

 **00:00:10:00**

"April?"

 **00:00:05:00**

"April." Matthew repeats, his voice wavering. His attempt fails to catch my attention.

 **00:00:04:00**

"April! Watch out!" He yells right in my ear. This time I look up at him but I react too late.

 **00:00:03:00**

Before I know it, my feet are being swept out from under me as a dog darts between us.

 **00:00:02:00**

Everything turns to a blur as I brace myself for the fall that never comes. A strong hand grips my arm as I come face to face with my savior.

 **00:00:01:00**

I keep my eyes closed tightly knowing it was Matthew who grabbed my arm in attempt to keep me balanced. Warmth instantly spreads throughout my body, head to toe. My arm gets tingly from the contact and my breath catches in my throat.

As I slowly open my eyes I whisper, "Zero," but it's not Matthew I see when I open them all the way. I'm met with the most beautiful, crystal blue eyes staring back at me. Everything around me seems to move in slow motion, but all I see is he. My eyes are glued to his mesmerizing ones as he sets me up straight.

"I'm so sorry. I was walking my friend's dog when he suddenly got away from me," His eyes suddenly widen as he realizes the dog is still running further and further away, "Oh crap! I have to go catch him!" He takes off running again.

"Wait!" I'm jolted out of my daze when I remember that I didn't even catch his name, "What's your name?" I holler at him.

He's pretty far away and I barely catch when he yells back, "Jackson! What's yours?"

I smile and respond, "April!"

I'm not sure if he heard for a few minutes until the dog comes passing by a few seconds later with Jackson in toe. He looks up at me one last time and says, "I guess I'll see you around then, April." He smiles gorgeously over his shoulder at me as he jogs away.

That was the moment everything had been leading up to. My timer was counting down for this. All the stories we heard growing up about our timers were true. That moment was it. When you meet your soul mate, that was when time stops. Jackson. **He made time stop.**


End file.
